Study Of Romans 12:1-2

New Testament – Romans 12:1-2

A Living Sacrifice – Romans 12:1-2

Rom 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 
Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 

v1 – Because of what Paul has written above, and because of the great mercy God has shown and poured down upon us, we should present ourselves as a sacrifice to God.

  • The word used here commonly denotes the action of bringing and presenting an animal or other sacrifice before an altar. It implies that the action was a free and voluntary offering. Religion is free; and the act of devoting ourselves to God is one of the most free that we ever perform.
    • To Present our Bodies – A metaphor taken from bringing sacrifices to the altar of God. The person offering picked out the choicest of his flock, brought it to the altar, and presented it there as an atonement for his sin. They are exhorted to give themselves up in the spirit of sacrifice; to be as wholly the Lord’s property as the whole burnt offering was, no part being devoted to any other use.
      • The sacrifice being perfect in its kind, and the intention of the one making the offering being such that both can be acceptable and well pleasing to God, who searches the heart. All these phrases are sacrificial and show that there must be a complete surrender of the person – the body, the whole man, mind and flesh, to be given to God; and that he is to consider himself no more his own, but the entire property of his Maker.
      • Nothing can be more consistent with reason than that the work of God should glorify its Author. We are not our own, we are the property of the Lord, by the right of creation and redemption; and it would be as unreasonable as it would be wicked not to live to his glory, in strict obedience to his will. The reasonable service,

v2 – The word rendered “conformed” properly means to put on the form, fashion, or appearance of another. It may refer to anything pertaining to the habit, manner, dress, style of living, etc., of others.

  • The word used here properly denotes an age, or generation of people. It may denote a particular generation, or it may be applied to the race. It is sometimes used in each of these senses. Thus, here it may mean that Christians should not conform to the maxims, habits, feelings, etc., of a wicked, luxurious, and idolatrous age, but should be conformed solely to the precepts and laws of the gospel; or the same principle may be extended to every age, and the direction may be, that Christians should not conform to the prevailing habits, style, and manners of the world, the people who know not God. They are to be governed by the laws of the Bible; to fashion their lives after the example of Christ; and to form themselves by principles different from those which prevail in the world.
    • In the application of this rule there is much difficulty. Many may think that they are not conformed to the world, while they can easily perceive that their neighbor is. They indulge in many things which others may think to be conformity to the world and are opposed to many things which others think innocent. The design of this passage is doubtless to produce a spirit that should not find pleasure in the pomp and vanity of the World; and which will regard all vain amusements and gaiety with disgust and lead the mind to find pleasure in better things.

 

Go Forward to Chapter 12 Part 2

Matthew 26:39

Verse of the Day Devotion: Matthew 26:39 

“And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” – Matthew 26:39            

This verse takes place in Gethsemane.  After the upper room meeting and supper, he goes to the Garden in Gethsemane to pray.  He takes with Him the inner three of the disciples, those being Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John.  In our focus verse, and the others around it, we see the human side of Jesus.  He was troubled by what He knows is coming.  “Then He said to them, My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” Matthew 26:38. Walking on, He goes a short distance and then falls on His face and prays.  This was a traditional way of presenting oneself in humility to God when what is being asked for is major and difficult.  

He cries out, “My Father”.  Normally, He simply uses the word Father.  Even while on the cross He uses the single word “Father”.  However, during His times of anguish, He cries out with a more intimate relational tone.  Here with the words “My Father”, and while on the cross where He cries out, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken Me?”  Both of these are cries in extreme anguish and show forth His human side.  His cry here, in our focus verse, is one of desiring another way.   

His wording regarding this was “Let this cup pass from me”.  This is speaking of a cup of poison and it was the way many were executed.  Socrates died in this manner.  According to Adam Clarke in his commentary on Matthew, the idea here is perhaps the allusion to several criminals standing in a row, who are all to drink of the same cup of poison, but the judge extending favor to a certain one, will allow the cup to pass by that person.  However, Jesus knew this was the way it would go.  We see this in the gospel of Luke.  “Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.” Luke 18:31-33. There was no question this was His future.  He knew this was why He was born, for it was the only way to pay the penalty for our sins. The anxiety of what was going to happen caused Him to make this rhetorical statement.  His love for His Father and ultimately us allowed Him to submit to what His Father required.   “Then He came to the disciples and said to them, are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!” Matthew 26:45-46.

Not long after this, Judas came to Him with a large crown carrying swords and clubs.  Then one of those with Jesus pulled a sword out and cut off the ear of a slave of the high priest.  However, “Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:52-53.   He freely went to die for us.  He could have prevented it, but He submitted to the Father to die for us that we might be saved.  There is no greater picture of love than this.  

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Revelation 20:15

Verse of the Day Devotion: Revelation 20:15 

“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”  Revelation 20:15             

Today, my wife, son and I were going through True Devotion Ministries doctrinal statement to make some minor adjustments where needed.  When we finally got to the eschatology section, this verse stood out in a major way to me.  It speaks of those who never accepted the work Jesus did on the cross; His death, burial and resurrection that paid the penalty for their sins. 

Here is the basic order of what will take place as written in Revelation 20.  First, Satan will be thrown into an abyss for a thousand years.  Then those who were killed because of their testimony of Christ and had not received the mark on their hand or forehead will come to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. .  (Revelation 20:1-6).

After the thousand years have been completed, Satan will be released, and he will gather together an army.  With them, Satan will surround the saints and Jerusalem, but will be defeated.  After this, he will be thrown into the lake of fire where the beast and the false prophet already are. Then the dead are to be judged, every one of them are to be judged, after which  death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire.  (Revelation 20:7-14).

Next, we see our focus verse.  “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15.  The final verdict will be decided based on whether our name is found in the book of life or not.  Those whose names are written in the book of life are those who are saved.  Those who are destined for eternal life.  They believe that Jesus is the Christ. As Jesus put it, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:14-16. 

Now, there is one important idea I want to bring out.  Those who do not believe, their names are not written in the Lambs book of Life.  We all know many people who are not saved.  Family, friends and acquaintances.  We see many people all over who are not saved.  Do we desire all our family members to have their names in the book?  Do we desire all our friends to have their names in the book?  It is up to us to make sure the names of everyone we know, and meet are found in the book of life.  We as Christians have a responsibility to share the gospel to as many as we have the opportunity to speak with.  Most unsaved have no idea what their future holds for them.  Make it a point to introduce them to the saving knowledge of Jesus.  God loves them and has called us to go out where He takes us and present the gospel.  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20.  And since no one can be a disciple unless they are saved, we are called to share the gospel.  Let us do what we can to introduce as many people as we can to Jesus, praying to get their names in the most important book in all of history.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Philippians 3:13

Verse of the Day Devotion: Philippians 3:13 

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,” – Philippians 3:13            

Paul in this verse is being very real with the Philippians in his encouragement to them.  He tells them that as far as he is concerned, he does not consider himself to have attained anything that he so strongly longs for.  And we see a picture of that in the previous verse.  “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12. He has not attained the perfection that will come after the return of Christ. He has not as of yet been crowned with the crown of victory.  He is showing a deep humility to those in Philippi.  

However, because he has not laid hold of this, there is one thing he does do and that is encouraging them to do the same.  He wants them to continue in the faith.  He does not want them to be bogged down with their past, for there is nothing that can be done regarding it.  Do not look back but look forward.  And there are two ways to look at this and we will examine both.

First, those who look back are seeing the sin and wrong they have committed before becoming a Christian.  Often, people will focus on these things and wonder how can they be worthy to do the work of God.  One thing we must remember is that it was God who accounts us worthy to do His work, not us.  He died on the cross to remove these past sins from us.  We are not accountable to them anymore for the price was paid by Christ, the perfect sacrifice.  And we are not that old person anymore.  “Therefore, from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.” 2 Corinthians 5:16.  We must not recognize anyone who is in Christ, in the flesh, and this must include ourselves.  We must not look back on who we were then, but look at who we are now.  And how can we legitimately do this?  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.  We are not that person anymore.  In fact, that person does not exist anymore.  It has passed away.  And if it no longer exists, then why should we look back?  We are a new creature, we must look at what lies ahead for us, a beautiful and glorious future.

And the second way, looking back at what we were and had and longing for it again.  This is not a good thing.  God does not want us doing this.  Remember what happened to Lot’s wife.  God told them not to look back, however she did.  “But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” Genesis 19:26. Now I am not saying we can turn into salt but looking back at a former life that is not there anymore is not beneficial.  However, Jesus says if we do, then we are not worthy.  “But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62  If we look back in any way from following Him, then we can end up being unworthy.

Now that we are Christians, our past life is gone.  We are not that person anymore.  Therefore, we are called not to look back, but to look ahead to where we are going and that life which is eternal and glorious.  We are to accept the result of accepting the forgiveness for that past life, and then looking forward to the life to come.  I know I cannot wait to attain that wonderful existence, which surpasses infinitely that which I was before.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

1 Peter 5:8

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Peter 5:8 

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8            

This verse paints a very clear picture of something many do not think about.  There are two who are watching us.  God, of course, whose interest is for our good. He knows us like no other, and He loves us with an everlasting love.  Then there is the other one.  It is known as the Devil, or Satan.  These words truly describe what he is.  The word devil comes from the Greek word ‘diabolos’ meaning false accuser and slanderer.  The word Satan comes from the Greek word ‘satanas’ meaning accuser, as found in a courtroom.  He is also referred to as the enemy. “and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.” Matthew 13:39.

This verse is telling us we must be on watch for his activities.  He is not going to come right out and say, “It is time to tempt you.”  He will come without us recognizing it.  His desire and goal is to destroy us because He hates us who love God, who love God and follow Him. As Peter Davids puts it in his commentary on 1 Peter, ‘there is a devil who wants to destroy those who are committed to God’.

And Satan has several methods to make us fall and possibly deny Christ. First there is persecution.  He will bring across our paths people or objects that will display incredible hatred toward us.  In many countries, this is a common lifestyle for Christians, such as China, North Korea, Islamic ruled countries and now much of India. And we are beginning to see it even more in the United States.  He tempts us using fear that we will be beaten, jailed or killed.  He uses various methods in order to scare us into denouncing Christ.  Sometimes he will use humiliation.  I once saw a person deny Christ in the midst of verbal abuse.  If it works, he will use it.  Another method is temptation.  This can be presented in several forms.  The first is to promise good things if we give in.  Payment for wrongdoing is one example.  Second, there is prodding our desires we have to sin.  He knows our weaknesses, and he will do what he can to exploit them so we fall.  And if he can make it happen, to give up our Christian walk for fulfilled desires, he will do it. 

There are so many things that could be said here, but just realize there are as many ways he tempts us as there are people.  We must stay on the alert for Satan’s ways, and we must resist him.  “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:7.  James gives us several steps to beat it.  First, submit to God.  We must give ourselves to Him continually, only doing God’s will, and not our own or the enemy’s.  And when we submit to God, we resist the devil.  There are two things that encompass most of his temptations: pride and envy.  And ways we resist are through faith, humble prayers and heavenly wisdom.  Also, stay away from areas that can tempt us. Whatever is tempting to us, we must avoid.  If you do all these things, James says the devil will flee from us.

And one last thing, we need to cast all our cares on Him.  (See 1 Peter 5:7.)  Many times we stumble because we are anxious about something and we will do whatever it takes to resolve it.  Cast all cares on God, trusting Him completely, and the enemy will lose a huge tool.  Again, be watchful and clear hearted.  When you see the enemy working, resist him.  And when he flees, life will get a bit easier.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Matthew 22:39

Verse of the Day Devotion: Matthew 22:39 

“The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:39             

This particular verse is one of the two more important verses that speaks to what our Christian walk is to be like.  The first, of course, is two verses before the focus verse which says, “And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37. Jesus declared this the great and foremost commandment.  God is to be our greatest love.  We are to love Him with everything we have.  With all our heart, and soul, and mind, and as Mark adds, all our strength.  With everything that is in us, our very breath and understanding, along with all the strength we have.  This being the greatest and foremost commandment.

Then we see our focus verse, “The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39. The first thing we need to understand is, who is our neighbor?  According to the Jews of that day, it was any member of the Hebrew nation and/or commonwealth.  However, Jesus had a much broader perspective, which was any person irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live, or we chance to meet or cross paths with.  We shall use the perspective of Jesus throughout this post. 

So, how do we choose to be treated?  Regarding myself, with respect and tolerance; understanding that I am not perfect.  I also want to be helped when necessary and always love the opportunity to get to know people I currently do not.  This, of course, is not a perfect picture of what is intended.  There is much more.  Let’s start with the commandments given on Mt. Sinai that deal with our neighbors and see what if says.  “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:12-17.  This is a pretty good list of behaviors that do not show love to our neighbors.  Murder, adultery, lying, stealing, etc are not activities done to those we love.   

Matthew records in His gospel a more specific and helpful way of declaring this idea.  “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12. Now, of course we do not want to be lied to, killed or cheated on.  However, let me ask the following questions for us to think about. 

  • Do we want to be ridiculed?
  • Do we want to be hurt, either physically, mentally or emotionally?
  • Do we want to be falsely accused of a wrong?
  • Do we want to be assumed of doing something we have not?
  • Do we want to be ignored by people we care about?
  • Do we want to be encouraged when we are hurting or mourning?
  • Do we want to have others rejoice with us when something good happens or to be resented because it was not them?
  • Do we want someone to care for us when we are injured or sick?
  • And if we were unsaved, would we want someone to share the gospel with us so that we could accept the salvation offered to us?

Think about these questions, and others you may come up with.  How we answer them is what we should or should not do for others.  If you do not wish to be ridiculed, do not ridicule others.   If you are hurting and want someone to be there with you, be there for those who are hurting.  If someone is hungry but does not have means of getting food, provide them with it.  This is what love for our neighbors is all about, and more.  Do good to everyone even though they never have or possibly never will do it for us.  If they are our enemies or they hate us, we should love them anyway.  “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew 5:44. Regarding them, who knows what impact we can have on them.  They could become our friend, and we may also, if they are unsaved, lead them to Christ.

Lastly, when we do this, we imitate what Christ did for us.  We could not pay the penalty for our own sins. So, Christ paid it for us.  “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” Romans 5:6-9.  This is true and pure love, and when we do to others those things, we know to be good and desire to be done for us, then we are displaying this type of love to them.    

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

1 Peter 5:7

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Peter 5:7 

“Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7            

This verse here is similar to one we find in the psalms.  “Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” Psalms 55:22. Both have the idea that we do not need to be burdened by trials and troubles because God said He would bare them for us. 

First, lets examine the context to this verse.  Peter starts this chapter by exhorting the elders to shepherd God’s people.  He tells them to train and help those under their care to grow in Christ.  And specifically not to do it out of duty, but from eagerness, wanting them to grow and see them become stronger in the faith.  And not lording over them but being examples of how they were to live.  He then exhorts the younger men who are under these leaders to humbly place themselves under subjection to their teachings.  It is important that Christians allow themselves to be discipled so as to understand and grow in the faith.  He then adds the following, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,” 1 Peter 5:6. To submit patiently to what God allows or causes to happen.  Sometimes He uses difficulty to correct us and we must accept this, for God does love us and knows what is best for us.  And in the process we are to wait humbly and patiently for the time God determines these tough times are completed.

Now, back to our focus verse, which is tied to verse six.  In submitting to God, we should then cast on Him all our anxieties, cares and worries, knowing God is good.  The idea in the word casting is ‘once for all.’  In other words, we are to cast our anxieties on Him and never take them back.  Too often we give them to God, and are fine for a season, but then we take them back.  We cast them upon Him trusting that He has them covered, then we take them back and become anxious again.  Have we lost our trust in Him?  The reason Peter gives as to why we can cast our cares on Him is because He cares for us.  Does He not care about us anymore?  The answer to these questions are an emphatic “NO”. He will never stop caring for us because He loves us with a never-ending love.  He does not delight in our troubles, however as stated above, He has a reason for allowing them.  And we must trust that all will end for our good. 

Therefore, when we find ourselves anxious about something, we must permanently give it to Him and not be anxious about it anymore.  We must leave it with Him and trust that we will be OK.  He loves us too much to allow something that will cause us harm, but also loves us enough to allow things that may be difficult but will cause a good to happen to us.  Trust Him and do not let our situations make us anxious or worrisome.  If a good comes from it, then was it really a bad thing?

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

2 Corinthians 5:7

Verse of the Day Devotion: 2 Corinthians 5:7 

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7           

Growing up, I used to walk in our back woods and enjoy the trees and bushes that lined the trail taking me from the front to the back of the nine acres my dad owned.  There was not much back there but trees and lots of places where wild black and raspberries grew, which I enjoyed eating while out there.  Sometimes I would take a side path just to see where it went, however, most times it just took me to nowhere.  But I always looked where I was going because it seemed there was always a fallen tree or some hole dug by small foxes or an occasionally a coyote.

In this verse, Paul uses the term walking as another way of traveling through life.  It denotes to live and act and conduct our lives in a particular way that is normal for us.  It describes life as a pilgrimage where our journey from one type of life to another is like traveling from one country to another.

Paul is essentially saying that as we go through life, we are actually on a journey to some final destination.  We can walk it in one of two ways.  We can either walk by faith or walk by sight.  Let us look at both of these in reference to our life’s journey here.  We can walk by sight which in essence says our map is what we can see.  We look up at the stars and see the magnificence of the observable universe, but because we do not see anything that could have created it, we assume they came into existence on their own, with only the assistance of the laws we observe in the known universe.  There can be no God because we cannot see it, and therefore it is inconceivable to us that there could be one.  And so, since there is none, than all actions and behaviors are judged by the values man places on them.  And this brings into our lives a relative value system that can change based on how people change.

If we walk by faith, our map is in essence the Word of God.  We cannot see God, but we know He exists because our faith shows us that He must.  We are not guided on our journey by what we see, but what we cannot see with our eyes, but what we see by our faith.  And as the writer of Hebrews stated, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1.  We are guided by what God says and we live our lives accordingly.  We do not see what our eternal life will be like, however, we believe this unseen person and live our lives in expectation of what He tells us will be.  The big difference that I can see of these two journeys are the ultimate destinations.  Those who walk by faith follow the path laid out by our loving God, who is real though we cannot see Him.  He guides us along the only path that leads to somewhere good, where those who walk by sight have no idea where that path is but follows many paths that lead to nowhere good.  It is our job to guide people to the only one who can take them to a place of real life, not to a delusional path that eventually leads to death.  And that path is seen by faith.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

James 4:10

Verse of the Day Devotion: James 4:10 

“Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” – James 4:10             

James here, in this passage, is telling the Christians to remain humble before the Lord.  When we either go before God in prayer and praise, or in studying His word, we must remember who we are and who we are going to.  He is God, the Almighty Creator of all things.  We are man, someone whom He created.  This is an infinite gap between us.  All mankind has sinned against Him, from Adam and Eve to us individually.  We have gone against His commands and were destined for eternal punishment. 

But in God’s love and mercy, knowing that we had no possible way of paying the penalty for ourselves, sent His only begotten Son to die in our stead.  For it took a perfect being to earn salvation, however, no one has ever lived this perfect life except for Jesus.  “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2.

Based on these verses, what could be our reason for exalting ourselves before God?  Were we perfect? No.  Did we deal with our own sin?  No. Did we help Him in any way with the process?  Absolutely not.  However, because of the joy set before Him, He endured what we deserved, death.  In tasting death for every man, He is set down at the right hand of the Father, and as the theologian Adam Clarke said in his comment on Hebrews 12:2, “ever appearing in the presence of God for us, and continuing His exhibition of Himself as our sacrifice, and His intercession as our mediator.”  We could do nothing; therefore, He did everything.

One last thing that it is important to remember, as Paul said to the Philippians, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. What God calls us to do, He works in us to fulfil His will In us.  To think we do it all is a misunderstanding.  We submit to Him and He does a great work through us.  He has a similar statement that he wrote to the Thessalonians.  “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12.  It is God who makes us worthy of His calling on us and will do a great work through us by His power, so that Jesus may be glorified in us, and us in Him.  It is here, in Him working through us, that we are glorified, where we are exalted.

Because He created us, then saved us when we sinned, then works through us to accomplish His will, we have no standing to come before Him in anyway but humbly.  For we are, as Christians, who we are because of Him.  Let us always remember this, so that when we go before God, we come in humility. Our future is set, and we will live forever with Him in glory.  What a great gift along with the others He has already shown us. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Matthew 5:8

Verse of the Day Devotion: Matthew 5:8 

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” – Matthew 5:8            

This verse is part of what is called the beatitudes, which Jesus declared in His sermon on the mount.  This same sense is found in the Psalms.  David declared the following, “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation.” Psalm 24:3-5.  David states that the one who has clean hands and a pure heart.  By clean hands is the idea of walking upright and working righteousness.  Pure heart has the idea of one who not only does righteous deeds, but whose heart is pure and devoted to God.  He is one who conscientiously fulfils his promises.  In essence, he is more focused on walking with God, spending time with Him, making Him the focus of His life rather than on doing the outward actions of the law.

This beatitude demands from us a deep examination of our hearts.  Is the work we do done out of humble servitude to God, or out of self-aggrandizement?  Is it done to make ourselves look good, or to honor God?  What is our motives for what we do?  If our hearts are pure, it will not be to make us look good, but to serve those who need our help in service to God.  Our prayer and bible reading should focus on  communing with God?  Again, is He the focus?  As stated above, a pure heart understands He is everything and we are to lift Him up in everything we do or say; everything we do should be to bring glory to God.  

So, what is meant here when Jesus said, ‘for they shall see God?’  This can be difficult.  Everyone will see God eventually in the end.  The question then is, who will see God here?  My answer is those who know Him.  Let me give an analogy I think will help lay out what I think this means.  When a non-believer looks into the sky at night, he sees many pinpoints of light.  They see  stars, planets and other bodies out there which, many will say, came into existence without a god.  They do not see God in the sky for they do not believe He exists.  When a believer looks up there, they see the handiwork of God, how He created everything and placed it all into motion, including all life. 

In like manner, those who are devoted completely to God sees Him in everything.  When praying, they see Him on the other side of the conversation.  When they study the scriptures, they see Him teaching them the truth found in them.  When they are going through trials, they see Him by their side, helping them through.  No matter what happens or what they do, they see God in the process.  Now, I would never say God will not give a vision of Himself to anyone.  However, many never see a vision of Him, but they see Him in everything in their lives, the good times and the hard time.     

Remember what Jesus said just prior to His ascension.  “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20.  He sent us out to make disciples of all nations, doing His work here on the earth.  He may have ascended into heaven, but He is with us always.  And if we look at everything with a pure heart and true devotion to Him, we will see Him everywhere we go.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.